Goodnight Moon
by papiersam
Summary: Being a vampire doesn't go how Marinette expects. Neither does having a werechat fight crime alongside her. A series written in short installments.
1. Beckon the Beauty and the Beast

_| 01: Beckon the Beauty and the Beast |_

* * *

"Call me _Werechat a la Soir_ ," he croons before taking her hand in his.

Marinette – no, she's not exactly Marinette right now; she's whatever the Kwami(?!) turned her into after _biting her_ – pulls her hand away and uses it to lightly tap Werechat(?!) back.

"As catchy as that is," Marinette says with the most honesty she can – which isn't much, "I think you're going to need to shorten it a bit."

"Anything you suggest, m'lady," he purrs, bowing.

Marinette isn't sure what she's done to capture his attention, but then maybe, under the mask and all that were-fur(?!), he's a regular flirt.

Or maybe flying out your window and knocking a guy off his feet – paws – is as metaphoric as it is literal. Either way, true to cat form, he landed like an Olympian while she got a face-full of Parisian street.

"And you are?" Werechat – name pending – prompts her.

Well, that's one of the last things on her mind right now. Getting bitten by a massive, fanged ladybug(?!) and transforming into one of Paris' Superhero – name pending – as according to said massive, fanged ladybug brings on many other questions first.

Not that Marinette believes she's superhero material – superpower-infusion-by-bite notwithstanding – because she's barely normal-person material.

And now she's barely normal human at all, what with her new fangs, porcelain skin, and fluid, black-spotted red cape(?!).

The ground rumbles, and Marinette throws out her arms to keep balance – heaven knows she already loses it walking down a flat street. Werechat drops on all fours, looking ready to pounce.

"Looks like it's gonna have to wait 'til later," he says, then winks. "I'll be waiting, my mysterious mistress."

Marinette wants to argue that no, she doesn't trust herself to _save all of Paris from a gargantuan, growing golem(?!)_ , but Werechat vaults away shouting, "I'm just starting out, too, so I'm trusting yo- _oooouu_ ~"

Marinette touches her earrings. She can almost _feel_ the Kwami's heartbeat warm against her fingers.

If she's going to have the weight of more people than she could ever imagine on her caped shoulders, she's glad to have people beside her that trust her – more than she'll ever trust herself.

Marinette braces herself, bounds, and dissolves into the Paris evening air.


	2. (Yo-yo)u're Up Next

_| 02: (Yo-yo)u're Up Next |_

* * *

Marinette can accept the superhuman powers. She can accept wearing the mask even if no one's going to recognize her when she's Count Dracula. She can even accept the ladybug-vampire collision that is her cape and invert-spotted bodysuit, despite her fashion sirens _wailing_.

What she can't wrap her head around is a yo-yo as her (only) choice of weapon.

Marinette doesn't have the dexterity to tie a shoelace, let alone fight crime with a probably-magical – because _why not_ throw magic into the mix – children's spinning toy.

"This is getting paw-blematic!" Werechat yelps, held tight in the golem's – Stoneheart – grip.

Marinette knows this is a bad idea, but even more than that, she knows she's got a responsibility now – _for now_ – to save those in danger.

"Ooh, here we go..!" she mumbles with nervous energy before flinging the yo-yo across the field, wrapping around Stoneheart, and pulling herself in one fluid motion.

Flying across the stadium yoyo-propelled, Marinette is in wonder. She's surprised she even remembered keep the loop around her finger, let alone slide under a golem, trip him up – even managing a one-liner, "Animal-cruelty gets no mercy!" – and save a werechat(?!).

Yeah, the whole cross-animal personas still needs some explaining.

"Thanks a million-ette, Buginette," Werechat says, grinning like this isn't frightening. "Now let's go back in and rock his world!"

Marinette's heart is racing, but she collects herself enough to grab Werechat by his belt-tail(?!).

"Haven't you noticed? He keeps getting bigger with every attack." Because Marinette's pretty sure it's hard to miss scary things getting scarier. "We've got to try something different."

"Different how?"

Marinette drop Werechat's tail, and touches her chin in thought. "I don't know…"

Werechat doesn't seem deterred. "No worries, Wonderbug. We'll just use our powers." He clenches his paw. " _Cataclysm!_ "


	3. The Pieces Assemble

_| 03: The Pieces Assemble |_

* * *

Apparently, werechat's have a terrible sense of hearing, or a genetic inability to listen effectively.

Because Werechat used his cataclysm to destroy a perfectly good soccer net, and neither knew his once-a-transformation power or his time-limit-thereafter.

Tikki – the vampire-ladybug- _wizard_ (?!) – gave Marinette the superpower rundown after the initial panic of getting bitten by a strange insect and then catching said insect settled.

It took a significant while to settle down, if Marinette's honest.

But now, facing Stoneheart with very few options, Marinette is overcome with an odd calm.

When she takes a deep breath and calls upon her Lucky Charm, she feels the rumbling, storming energy concentrate and fall into her hands in the form of an inflatable body balloon(?!).

Marinette has the sinking feeling that being a vampire-ladybug-superhero isn't going to be the thrilling, whirlwind adventure she imagined it would be.

Even Werechat takes a while to snap back. "So what's the plan?"

And the moment right before Ladybug defeatedly tells him she doesn't know, she feels something like a shiver roll over her and watches everything blur over into a superfluid, grayscale movie.

And then, it clicks.

All things considered? It's the least weird thing that's happened to her today.

"His Akuma," Marinette mutters.

"Huh?"

"We have to destroy his Akuma," Marinette repeats, echoing Tikki's previous lesson. "He's hiding it – I'd say in his right hand. The one he never opens."

Werechat looks at the raging golem, then looks back at Marinette. "Sounds about right. So, I ask again: what's the plan, m'lady?"

Marinette isn't sure where it comes from, but there's a certainty in her right now. One that tells her to follow her instinct – vampire-ladybug or not.

"You'll see. Don't resist," she adds, throwing her yo-yo around Werechat's legs. "You have to trust me on this."

Before Werechat can get in a word, Marinette hurls her yo-yo, throwing him towards Stoneheart, who catches him snugly.

She then takes a hose from underfoot and stuffs the head into the bodysuit before leaping after Werechat. "Catch me if you can!"

Stoneheart flinches, then opens his other fist to grab Marinette midair.

"Gh-!" Marinette grunts, breath knocked out. She should have figured with stone hands comes stone grip.

Still, her hands are free while Stoneheart's aren't, so she launches her yo-yo at the hose's knob – across the field, no less, which isn't shabby for a _yo-yo_ – and feels the rush of water build up in the suit.

Before long, it expands so wide Stoneheart's hand is whipped wide open, freeing Marinette.

She lands on her feet, and takes the running momentum straight to where Stoneheart dropped the Akuma, and stomps hard.

It disintegrates, and a black butterfly flutters away into the sky. At the same time, Stoneheart falls apart, dropping into a pile of stone surrounding Werechat – looking at her in awe – and a boy from her class: Ivan.

Before the dust even settles, Werechat clambers up to her, green eyes alight with the most admiration Marinette's ever seen. "That was incredible! _You're_ incredible!"

"We both did it," Marinette corrects. Werechat may not be able to call upon the universe for a puzzle that saves the day, but he has heart and wit for days. "…Partner."

Werechat smiles at that, and lifts his fist up. Marinette meets it with her own.

" _Bien jouée_!"

For a moment, they're in sync, and Marinette suspects it's not the last moment. Then, Werechat's ring chimes.

"You should get going," Marinette says. When Werechat looks like he's about to argue, she adds, "Our identities _must_ remain secret. To protect ourselves, and our loved ones."

Even to Marinette, it sounds like she's reading off a script, but the words carry a truth, a heavy weight.

"Until next time, m'lady," Werechat concedes with a bow. As he leaps away, he shouts, "I hope to see you again soon!"

Marinette watches him leave. As much as she wants to share his sentiment, the implications of it are worse than unfavourable.

"Not too soon, I hope," she whispers.


End file.
